We have all heard innumerable times that stress is not at all good for sleeping. It makes us anxious and keeps us up for days on end, only providing us troubled sleep once in a short while. As you may have guessed already, this can not be good for our body and our mind, which is extremely true. While there is a direct relationship between how stressed out you are and in turn how much sleep you get, what you may have failed to realise is that it is all a very vicious cycle. So basically it starts with you being stressed and not getting enough sleep. And when you do not get enough sleep on a day to day basis, it becomes even harder to sleep every day even when you are not that stressed. This is literally how so many insomniacs have come into being.
This not only affects your work productivity and your mood throughout the day but can also have extremely serious and adverse effects on your overall health and wellbeing in the long run. There are many dangers of sleep deprivation like memory problems, weakened immunity and high blood pressure among others. For your benefit, in this article, we are listing down some simple ways through which you can ensure a stress-free and a relaxing sleep so that you are able to remain healthy for much longer than before. Read on to know more about these.
- Drink Relaxing Herbal Teas Like Chamomile Or Peppermint:
The effect that herbal teas have on our bodies and minds can not be underestimated at all. They help to calm us down and also aid in relaxing our body to a great extent. Every ingredient which is present in such herbal teas be it peppermint, chamomile or honey among others have specific benefits for the human body and stimulate the parts of the brain which help us to relieve stress and to be much more relaxed. These are a better option to drink at night instead of caffeinated drinks like regular tea or coffee.
- Do Not Indulge In Activities Which Make Your Mind Active Before Bedtime:
At nighttime, your brain needs time to unwind so that it is able to shut down in a much easier way. If you instead do something which makes your mind more awake and active during this time, you are more likely to not fall asleep easily and you will most probably toss and turn for a good while before getting any quality sleep. - Switch Off Your Work Phone Or Your Work Laptop At Least An Hour Before Bed:
There should be a clear distinction between your sleep routine and your work routine. If you tend to bring your work to your bed every night or even occasionally, it may mean that that is the main culprit which is hindering you in getting a good night’s sleep. Therefore, it is always a good idea to switch off your work-related notebooks, planners and gadgets at least an hour before you head off to sleep so that you do not carry forward any work stress in your sleeping cycle. - Habituate Rituals Which Make Your Brain Think That You Are Going To Bed:
This is a very underrated tip which says that you need to have a set routine for your nighttime activities. What this helps in doing is to tell your brain that it is time to sleep now. These set activities can help to train the brain to start producing the sleep hormone, which is what essentially makes you feel tired and sleepy. Some rituals that you can follow is to read a book, write in your journal, having your multivitamins or regular medicines or even follow a proper skincare routine. Also, if you suffer from illnesses like hypertension or diabetes, you can make it a habit to check your vitals at night using a digital blood pressure monitor or a glucose meter kit.
- Take Time To Reflect On Your Day Instead Of Thinking About The Next One:
Now, this point is really important to follow as planning ahead for the next day seems like a sensible thing to do. But the problem with this is that planning can get your brain active and alert which is great otherwise but is not really helpful when you want to fall into a peaceful sleep. Instead of planning ahead at night, it is better to do it first thing in the morning and to reserve the nights to reflect on the day that you have had instead. - Your Mattress And Pillow Should Give You Optimum Comfort:
This is a point which is often overlooked but it is of immense importance that your mattress and your pillow are comfortable and do not aggravate any pre-existing issues or create new ones when you sleep on them. These can really affect the quality of the sleep that you are able to get. - Meditate Right Before Bedtime To Reduce Stress:
If you find it challenging to switch off from your normal day to sleep in a proper way, you can try meditating. Meditation really helps in calming your mind down in an effective way so that you are able to get a good night’s sleep. And you do not need a lot to meditate. There are many videos online to help you begin this if you are a novice and have no idea how to do it.
We have seen that there are so many great benefits to reducing stress before going off to sleep for the night. This helps us to get a better quality of sleep which is far more restful and also helps us in living a more productive and fulfilling life in the longer term. So we have made it a point to say goodbye to stress before bedtime and leave it behind by following these nightly rituals, what about you? If you happen to follow any of these, do let us know how they pan out for you and recommend these to your near and dear ones as well.
